Us and our roads

Today morning’s impalement of the Nyeri Governor’s Benz on the metal spear that is a guard rail calls to mind many questions on road design, our culture of short cuts and the fabric of our drivers as regards sensible use of the road.
The authorities can rightly call wananchi out on how we walk, ride, drive and treat our infrastructure.
We’ll steal the signage, vandalize the metal guard rails and manhole covers, jay walk across 6-lane dual carriage ways, knock down barrier posts so we can drive on pedestrian walkways, fly on the roads like maniacs . That’s just us. A flaw in the core that maybe only pressure and heat can fix.

But we can call the authorities out on how safe they make the roads for us.
Who certifies a road project complete? And using what criteria? Signage, banked turns, shoulder design, cyclists’ lanes, foot paths, road markings, foot bridges and tunnels, etc.

That guard rail was supposed to collapse with the Governor’s car, not go through it.

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When on one road, barely 5 years old, a pedestrian’s tunnel has never been usable, not because it’s been invaded by those who sleep rough, but because a mound of earth at one end of the tunnel was never cleared, so we make a mad dash across Langata Road to the Animal Orphanage; or when pupils on foot share a road (with their backs to traffic) with motorists, because the pedestrian walkway has been dug up for a cable installation (which is being done at a leisurely pace) we can wag a finger at the powers that be.

We need to fix us.

The culprit here i think is the Rail support and their anchorage …
they are Reinforced concrete, no way a vehicle will collapse that rail without massive damage

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True. It reminds me of a heated debate I had with a colleague about Salgaa yesterday. He claimed that it was carelessness of our drivers that cause accidents and that the government is not to blame. My take was that be as it may that we are peculiar people, the government should try to protect us from ourselves. Someone was explaining here how in Germany, once a place has been identified as a blackspot, engineers are sent to study the road and the government redesigns it to protect people.
Most roads in Kenya are death traps due to poor design, lack of maintenance leading to massive potholes and most importantly, mad reckless drivers so that every time you are on the roads, the chances of perishing are quite significant.

Correct! Reinforced concrete should not collapse, even under the weight of a trailer.

That car was speeding; the road safety measures did not hold.

AND… The police have cleaned out the evidence. Why do they do this even before carrying out proper investigations on what happened?

Leo civil Engs tumeanikwa
Some guard rail ends are treated this way
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Others this way
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Sina experience na road design lakini iko shida mahali hapo.

AND… The police have cleaned out the evidence. Why do they do this even before carrying out proper investigations on what happened?

May be they were instructed to do so or They dont want this blowing back to the system

On a road that other motorists use, you cannot leave the car hapo waiting for CSI to come from Miami, you will be endangering the other motorists. Take photos & measurements and remove the car

In my shaggs we have a road constructed in the 90s. The guard rails are in good shape and they are of good design, with curling ends. I will take a photo next time am there. The issue here is that our safety is no longer the concern of these people (both the leaders and the contractors).

hehehe so CSI watakuja lini, si accident ingine pia itajirudia hapo before CSI waje

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfoA6IuXq5s

Exactly.
This is a must watch…

from my two cents engineering knowledge guard raids should end like in the top pick below[ATTACH=full]137399[/ATTACH] .

if robberies and murders are not investigated, you expect car accidents to be ??

Hiyo ya kwanza hufanya gari zi fly

expect NTSA to mount a crackdown on highway A2 tomorrow.

Ata kama iliwa two way there is a reason why i always drive on the second lane iwe mchana au usiku au kama hakuna gari nyuma i use almost two lanes ikiwa ni two way .

I asked in a recent thread anyone to show me any evidence road engineers in Kenya are able to seriously think about road design. Many thought I was insulting them but I wasn’t.
The evidence is there for everyone to see everywhere on the roads.

Afadhali kuliko kukatwa into two

Siku yake ilifika…RIP

Very informative.